Electronic defibrillating appartus are well known in the art. It is recognized that when the heart of a person goes into fibrillation, a discharge of a predetermined amount of electrical energy into the chest of the patient may stop the fibrillation. In accordance with conventional practice electrodes are provided which are placed on the chest of the patient. A capacitor in the apparatus is charged until a predetermined number of watt-seconds of energy is stored. A meter on the apparatus indicates when this predetermined quantity of electrical energy has been stored, and the doctor or technician may then close a switch to discharge the capacitor into the body of the patient whereby, hopefully, to stop fibrillation of the heart. Additional charges subsequently may be discharged into the body of the patient if the first discharge does not stop fibrillation. Such an electric discharge can have other beneficial effects on a patient, such as restarting a heart which has stopped for one reason or another.
In all previous defibrillating apparatus with which we are familiar it has been necessary for the doctor or technician to observe a meter on the apparatus to determine when the capacitor has charged to the requisite extent. Thus, the doctor or technician must monitor the apparatus, while at the same time watching the patient for various medical signs, and simultaneously properly positioning the electrodes on the chest of the patient.